While Google Docs is brilliant, the only issue is that you need an active Internet connection to create new Office documents in Google Docs as well as for editing /reading old files that already exist in your Google account.

That’s a problem because, unless you use something like Google Gears, you won’t have access to your Google documents while you are in an airplane or are using an old computer that has Microsoft Office but no Internet connection.

Download Google Documents for Offline Use

Therefore the best option is that you download a copy of all your documents, PDFs, etc. from Google Docs and put them on a local hard-drive or USB stick so that you can at least read them which you are in offline mode.

While there are third-party tools that let you easily download Google Documents to the local drive in one go, the good news is that the batch export feature is now available in Google Docs by default so you don’t have to hunt for external tools to help you do so.

Select Google Documents for Exporting

Just open your Google Docs account and select the documents that you want download locally.

Then use the Export option from “More Actions” and within minutes, all your Google documents will be available on the desktop as one large zip file. You may even convert Office files to PDF or HTML format before exporting them out of Google Docs.

Amit Agarwal is a web geek and founder of Digital Inspiration, a popular tech & how-to website. He has been blogging for over a decade and has also contributed to the Wall Street Journal, Lifehacker and The Financial Express. Sign-up for the email newsletter for your daily dose of tips & tutorials.